Tag Archives: Swine Flu

So Landon Donovan has Swine Flu… You would think he got this in his time in Mexico but it turns out that he probably got it from his Galaxy Coaches during his trip to New England:

According to the Los Angeles Times, a pair of Galaxy team staffers (an administrator and chiropractor) who travel with the squad fell ill during the team’s trip to the Massachusetts to play the New England Revolution.
Soon after, Donovan began to feel poorly.

So he was sick during the game vs Mexico probability not a good combination with the altitude, pollution and heat…. so take that for whats its worth. However the USMNT is saying they had no idea that Donovan was sick:

“As part of the press release that announced the preventative measures U.S. Soccer expressed that they had no knowledge of Donovan being sick while he was in camp or during their trip to Mexico and it is presumed that he most likely came in contact with the virus while with his club team in L.A.
The most troubling issue is that Donovan never mentioned his illness to the U.S. team, opting to fight through it rather than alert the doctors ahead of the match against Mexico.
Donovan is quoted in the L.A. Times as saying that he began coughing on Monday and felt tired ahead of the match on Wednesday.
With the conditions is Azteca already hard enough to deal with, playing with an illness could have been a very costly mistake, both for Donovan and for the team. With the news not breaking until the team had split and was once again spread out all over the globe, the preventative measures could be hard to implement.
According to Galaxy manager Bruce Arena Donovan could be an option on Saturday for his club team but his availability will be determined by how he feels before the match.”

Because of this the US national team is taking measures to protect their players:

“U.S. Soccer is trying to take preventative measures against the further spread of the influenza A virus which star midfielder Landon Donovan tested positive for a day after the U.S. lost to Mexico.”
“We have prescribed the medication to players, coaches and staff members who may have come in close contact with Landon Donovan solely as a preventative measure,” said Dr. David Wallis, a member of the U.S. Soccer medical staff in a press release. “Based on CDC recommendations, individuals who did not experience close contact with the player, such as journalists, fans or opposing players, do not need to take any preventative measures. As of now, no other member of the U.S. team delegation has indicated any symptoms associated with the virus and at this time we do not believe additional steps are necessary. However, we will be continuing to monitor the situation and CDC recommendations very closely as we continue to learn more.”

And now club teams have begun to worry as Cherundolo has been quarantined:

“Unsure of whether U.S. Men’s National Team defender Steve Cherundolo is infected, Hannover have decided to quarantine the 30-year-old until it has become medically clear he doesn’t have the virus.
“Until we have clarity, it would be irresponsible not to isolate Stevie from the team,” Hannover director of sport Joerg Schmadtke said of the preventive measure to the club’s website.”

Hopefully this dose not affect any playing time for USMNT players, however it is speculated that Michale Bradley will be quarantined soon as well, with their clubs because its time for us to start using all of our new additions to top European Clubs as a way to improve our players and team as a whole.